New South African approach to protecting babies from AIDS
Chitra Pathak and Julie Clayton A new approach to protecting newborn babies against HIV infection in KwaZulu-Natal is causing widespread excitement abroad, and could soon enter clinical trials. It involves injecting babies with laboratory-made antibodies against the virus. Compared with the current practice of giving protective drugs to both a woman and her child, the new technique might enable women with the incurable Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) to continue breastfeeding without transmitting the virus to their babies.